Daunorubicin is an anthracycline antineoplastic antibiotic used mainly in the treatment of acute leukemias, particularly acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), where it acts by intercalating into DNA, inhibiting topoisomerase II, and generating free radicals that disrupt DNA replication and RNA synthesis, leading to cancer cell death. It was originally isolated in the early 1960s from Streptomyces peucetius during research on natural antitumor antibiotics, and its discovery marked a major breakthrough in cancer chemotherapy. Over time, daunorubicin became one of the first effective chemotherapeutic agents for leukemia and served as a foundation for the development of related anthracyclines such as doxorubicin, remaining an important drug in oncology despite its known risks of cardiotoxicity, which require careful dose monitoring and clinical management.
